Service Transition

1. Introduction

The Service Transition publication is part of the ITIL Service Management Practices, which document industry best practice for the service lifecycle management of IT enabled services. Although this publication can be read in isolation, it is recommended that it be used in conjunction with the other ITIL publications. Service Management is a generic concept and the guidance in the new ITIL publications applies generically. The guidance is also scalable - applicable to small and large organizations. It applies to distributed and centralized systems, whether in-house or supplied by third parties. It is neither bureaucratic nor unwieldy if implemented wisely and in full recognition of the business needs of your organization.

Adopting Service Transition best practices can enable improvements to services and Service Management capability by ensuring that the introduction, deployment, transfer and decommissioning of new or changed services is consistently well managed.

1.1 OVERVIEW

Service providers are increasingly focusing on service quality while adopting a more business and customer oriented approach to delivering services and cost optimization.

Many organizations deliver significant change through formal projects, and the failure to ensure that projects address the full Service Management and operational requirements as well as the functional requirements can be a costly, or even fatal, mistake to an organization. Service Transition ensures that the transition processes are streamlined, effective and efficient so that the risk of delay is minimized. It establishes assurance of the expected and actual service deliverables, and integrated elements that each service depends on to deliver and operate the service successfully. These elements include applications, infrastructure, knowledge, documentation, facilities, finance, people, processes, skills and so on.

Where there is major change there will be complexity and risk. There are usually many interdependencies to manage and conflicting priorities to resolve, particularly as new and changed services transition and go live. Service Transition takes into consideration aspects such as organizational change and adaptation of the wider environment in which they operate that would influence an organization's use of the services and the associated risks. More is required than merely receiving a design containing detailed Acceptance Criteria, implementing according to that design and measuring against the criteria. This would be the case if stability could be assured but in the real world the design and Acceptance Criteria may be affected by changes to IT, other services, the business or other external factors. Observation, interpretation and manipulation of the broader services environment are often necessary to deliver the benefits from the services required by the customer and envisaged by design.

At all stages the likelihood of success is balanced against the consequences of failure and the costs (financial and other). The assessment and prediction of performance and risk is therefore an essential and day-to-day element of the Service Transition process.

Successful Service Transition rests on effective understanding and application of Change Management, quality assurance, and risk management and effective programme and project management. This makes it possible, at every stage through the Service Transition process, to plan, track and confirm progress against current requirements, not just for one service but across all services in transition.

Service Transition does not end abruptly when a new or changed service goes live; rather it works with Service Operations to deliver early life support.

1.2 CONTEXT

1.2.1 Service Management

Information technology (IT) is a commonly used term that changes meaning with context. From the first perspective, IT systems, applications and infrastructure are components or sub-assemblies of a larger product. They enable or are embedded in processes and services. From the second perspective, IT is an organization with its own set of capabilities and resources. IT organizations can be of various types such as business functions, shared services units and enterprise-level core units.

From the third perspective, IT is a category of services used by business. They are typically IT applications and infrastructure that are packaged and offered as services by internal IT organizations or external service providers. IT costs are treated as business expenses. From the fourth perspective, IT is a category of business assets that provide a stream of benefits for their owners, including but not .limited to revenue, income and profit. IT costs are treated as investments.

1.2.2 Good Practice In The Public Domain

Organizations operate in dynamic environments with the need to learn and adapt. There is a need to improve performance while managing trade-offs. Under similar pressure, customers seek advantage from service providers. They pursue sourcing strategies that best serve their own business interest. In many countries, government agencies and non-profits have a similar propensity to outsource for the sake of operational effectiveness. This puts additional pressure on service providers to maintain a competitive advantage with respect to the alternatives that customers may have. The increase in outsourcing has particularly exposed internal service providers to unusual competition.

To cope with the pressure, organizations benchmark themselves against peers and seek to close gaps in capabilities. One way to close such gaps is to adopt good practices in wide industry use. There are several sources for good practices including public frameworks, standards and the proprietary knowledge of organizations and individuals (Figure 1.1).

Figure 1.1 Sourcing of Service Management practice

Public frameworks and standards are attractive compared with proprietary knowledge. Proprietary knowledge is deeply embedded in organizations and therefore difficult to adopt, replicate or transfer even with the cooperation of the owners. Such knowledge is often in the form of tacit knowledge, which is inextricable and poorly documented.

Proprietary knowledge is customized for the local context and specific business needs to the point of being idiosyncratic. Unless the recipients of such knowledge have matching circumstances, the knowledge may not be as effective in use.
Owners of proprietary knowledge expect to be rewarded for their long-term investments. They may make such knowledge available only under commercial terms through purchases and licensing agreements.
Publicly available frameworks and standards such as ITIL, Control Objectives for Information and related Technology (COBIT), Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI), eSourcing Capability Model for Service Providers (eSCM-SP), PRINCE2, ISO 9000, ISO 20000 and ISO 27001 are validated across a diverse set of environments and situations rather than the limited experience of a single organization. They are subject to broad review across multiple organizations and disciplines. They are vetted by diverse sets of partners, suppliers and competitors.
The knowledge of public frameworks is more likely to be widely distributed among a large community of professionals through publicly available training and certification. It is easier for organizations to acquire such knowledge through the labour market.

Ignoring public frameworks and standards can needlessly place an organization at a disadvantage. Organizations should cultivate their own proprietary knowledge on top of a body of knowledge based on public frameworks and standards. Collaboration and coordination across organizations are easier on the basis of shared practices and standards.

1.2.3 ITIL and Good Practice In Service Management

The context of this publication is the ITIL Framework as a source of good practice in Service Management. ITIL is used by organizations world-wide to establish and improve capabilities in Service Management. ISO/IEC 20000 provides a formal and universal standard for organizations seeking to have their Service Management capabilities audited and certified. While ISO/IEC 20000 is a standard to be achieved and maintained, ITIL offers a body of knowledge useful for achieving the standard.

The ITIL Library has the following components:

The ITIL Core: best practice guidance applicable to all types of organizations that provide services to a business
The ITIL Complementary Guidance: a complementary set of publications with guidance specific to industry sectors, organization types, operating models and technology architectures.

The ITIL Core consists of five publications (Figure 1.2). Each provides the guidance necessary for an integrated approach as required by the ISO/IEC 20000 standard specification:

Service Strategy
Service Design
Service Transition
Service Operation
Continual Service Improvement.

Each publication addresses capabilities that have a direct impact on a service provider's performance. The structure of the core is in the form of a lifecycle. It is iterative and multidimensional. It ensures organizations are set up to leverage capabilities in one area for learning and improvements in others. The core is expected to provide structure, stability and strength to Service Management capabilities with durable principles, methods and tools. This serves to protect investments and provide the necessary basis for measurement, learning and improvement.

Figure 1.2 ITIL Core
Figure 1.2 ITIL Core

The guidance in ITIL can be adapted for use in various business environments and organizational strategies. The Complementary Guidance provides flexibility to implement the core in a diverse range of environments. Practitioners can select Complementary Guidance as needed to provide traction for the core in a given business context, much like tyres are selected based on the type of automobile, purpose and road conditions. This is to increase the durability and portability of knowledge assets and to protect investments in Service Management capabilities.

1.2.3.1 Service Strategy

The Service Strategy publication provides guidance on how to design, develop and implement Service Management not only as an organizational capability but as a strategic asset. Guidance is provided on the principles underpinning the practice of Service Management which are useful for developing Service Management policies, guidelines and processes across the ITIL service lifecycle. Service Strategy guidance is useful in the context of Service Design, Service Transition, Service Operation and Continual Service Improvement. Topics covered in Service Strategy include the development of markets, internal and external, service assets, service catalogue, and implementation of strategy through the service lifecycle. Financial management, Service Portfolio management, organizational development and strategic risks are among other major topics.

Organizations use the guidance to set objectives and expectations of performance towards serving customers and market spaces, and to identify, select and prioritize opportunities. Service Strategy is about ensuring that organizations are in position to handle the costs and risks associated with their Service Portfolios, and are set up not just for operational effectiveness but for distinctive performance. Decisions made about Service Strategy have far-reaching consequences including those with delayed effect.

Organizations already practising ITIL use this publication to guide a strategic review of their ITIL-based Service Management capabilities and to improve the alignment between those capabilities and their business strategies. This ITIL publication encourages readers to stop and think about why something is to be done before thinking of how. Answers to the first type of questions are closer to the customer's business. Service Strategy expands the scope of the ITIL framework beyond the traditional audience of IT Service Management professionals.

1.2.3.2 Service Design

The Service Design publication provides guidance for the design and development of services and Service Management processes. It covers design principles and methods for converting strategic objectives into portfolios of services and service assets. The scope of Service Design is not limited to new services. It includes the changes and improvements necessary to increase or maintain value to customers over the lifecycle of services, the continuity of services, achievement of service levels, and conformance to standards and regulations. It guides organizations on how to develop design capabilities for Service Management.

1.2.3.3 Service Transition

The Service Transition publication provides guidance for the development and improvement of capabilities for transitioning new and changed services into operations. This publication provides guidance on how the requirements of Service Strategy encoded in Service Design are effectively realized in Service Operations while controlling the risks of failure and disruption. The publication combines practices in release management, programme management and risk management and places them in the practical context of Service Management. It provides guidance on managing the complexity related to changes to services and Service Management processes, preventing undesired consequences while allowing for innovation. Guidance is provided on transferring the control of services between customers and service providers.

1.2.3.4 Service Operation

This publication embodies practices in the management of Service Operations. It includes guidance on achieving effectiveness and efficiency in the delivery and support of services so as to ensure value for the customer and the service provider. Strategic objectives are ultimately realized through Service Operations, therefore making it a critical capability. Guidance is provided on how to maintain stability in Service Operations, allowing for changes in design, scale, scope and service levels. Organizations are provided with detailed process guidelines, methods and tools for use in two major control perspectives: reactive and proactive. Managers and practitioners are provided with knowledge allowing them to make better decisions in areas such as managing the availability of services, controlling demand, optimizing capacity utilization, scheduling of operations, and fixing problems. Guidance is provided on supporting operations through new models .and architectures such as shared services, utility computing, web services and mobile commerce.

1.2.3.5 Continual Service Improvement

The Continual Service Improvement publication provides instrumental guidance in creating and maintaining value for customers through better design, introduction and operation of services. It combines principles, practices and methods from quality management, Change Management and capability improvement. Organizations learn to realize incremental and large-scale improvements in service quality, operational efficiency and business continuity. Guidance is provided for linking improvement efforts and outcomes with Service Strategy, design and transition. A closed-loop feedback system, based on the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) model specified in ISO/IEC 20000, is established and capable of receiving inputs for change from any planning perspective.

1.3 GOAL AND SCOPE OF SERVICE TRANSITION

1.3.1 Goal

The goal of this publication is to assist organizations seeking to plan and manage service changes and deploy service releases into the production environment successfully.

1.3.2 Scope

This publication provides guidance for the development and improvement of capabilities for transitioning new and changed services into the production environment, including release planning building, testing, evaluation and deployment. The guidance focuses on how to ensure the requirements of Service Strategies, set out in Service Design, are effectively realized in Service Operations while controlling the risks of failure and disruption.

Consideration is given to:

Managing the complexity associated with changes to services and Service Management processes
Allowing for innovation while minimizing the unintended consequences of change
The introduction of new services
Changes to existing services, e.g. expansion, reduction, change of supplier, acquisition or disposal of sections of user base or suppliers, change of requirements or skills availability
Decommissioning and discontinuation of services, applications or other service components
Transfer of services.

Guidance on transferring the control of services includes transfer in the following circumstances:

Out to a new supplier, e.g. outsourcing, off-shoring
From one supplier to another
Back in from a supplier, e.g. insourcing
To or from an external service provider
Moving to a shared service provision (e.g. partial outsource of some processes)
Multiple suppliers, e.g. smart-sourcing
Joint venture/secondment
Partnering
Down-sizing, up-sizing (right-sizing)
Merger and acquisition.

In reality, circumstances generate a combination of several of the above options at any one time and in any one situation. The scope also includes the transition of fundamental changes to the service provider's Service Management capability that will change the ways of working, the organization, people, projects and third parties involved in Service Management.

1.4 USAGE

1.4.1 Target Audience

This publication is relevant to organizations involved in the development, delivery or support of services, including:

Service providers, both internal and external
Organizations that aim to improve services through the effective application of Service Management and service lifecycle processes to improve their service quality
Organizations that require a consistent managed approach across all service providers in a supply chain
Organizations that are going out to tender for their services.

The publication is relevant to IT service managers and to all those working in Service Transition or areas supporting the objectives of Service Transition including:

Staff working in programmes and projects that are responsible for delivering new or changed services and the services environment
Transition managers and staff
Testing managers and testing practitioners, including test environment and test data managers and librarians
Quality assurance managers
Asset and Configuration Management staff
Change Management staff
Release and deployment staff
Procurement staff
Relationship managers and supplier managers
Suppliers delivering services, support, training etc.

1.4.2 Benefits Of This Publication

Selecting and adopting the best practices in this publication will assist organizations in delivering significant benefits. Adopting and implementing standard and consistent approaches for Service Transition will:

Enable projects to estimate the cost, timing, resource requirement and risks associated with the Service Transition stage more accurately
Result in higher volumes of successful change
Be easier for people to adopt and follow
Enable Service Transition assets to be shared and reused across projects and services
Reduce delays from unexpected clashes and dependencies, e.g. in test environments
Reduce the effort spent on managing the Service Transition test and pilot environments
Improve expectation setting for all stakeholders involved in Service Transition including customers, users, suppliers, partners and projects
Increase confidence that the new or changed service can be delivered to specification without unexpectedly affecting other services or stakeholders
Ensure that new or changed services will be maintainable and cost-effective.

The publication will help its readers to set up Service Transition and the processes that support it, and to make effective use of those processes to facilitate the effective transitioning of new, changed or decommissioned services.

It sets out guidance on the establishment and operation of Service Transition and specifically addresses the processes that are substantially focused on supporting Service Transition. Specifically, in addition to this chapter's highlevel introduction to the subject, subsequent chapters in the publication address the following topics.

Chapter 2 - Service Management as a practice
This chapter introduces the concept of Service Management as a practice. Here Service Management is positioned as a strategic and professional component of any organization. It illustrates elements of the Service Transition lifecycle stages. The goal and scope of the topic are set out together with key success measures. Interfaces to other ITIL Core topics are described and the processes that support transition are listed, placed in context and outlined in terms of their range of applicability across the lifecycle and their interface and relevance to transition.

Chapter 3 - Service Transition principles
This chapter sets out the key tenets and concepts within Service Transition, specific terminology and usage.

Chapter 4 - Service Transition processes
A separate section is dedicated to each of the processes that support Service Transition. Some of these processes are almost wholly contained within the transition area, e.g. deployment. Others are effectively whole lifecycle processes that support the full service lifecycle: Change Management for example (see section 2.4.6).

Chapter 5 - Service Transition common operation activities
Activities, information and other matters relevant to Service Transition, including the management of organizational change during transition.

Chapter 6 - Organizing for Service Transition
Roles and responsibilities together with other appropriate organizational options are considered with reference to relevant adaptations for size, industry sector etc.

Chapter 7 - Service Transition technology considerations
All aspects of IT Service Management rely, to a greater or lesser extent, on appropriate technological support. This chapter sets out the typical technology requirements for effective Service Transition and how technology can deliver constructive support.

Chapter 8 - Implementing Service Transition
This chapter considers the elements required and suitable approaches of an organization implementing Service Transition.

Chapter 9 - Challenges, critical success factors and risks
In order to ensure successful, effective and efficient Service Transitions it is essential to be able to establish the performance against targets and costs against budgets of transitioning services and of the process overall.

Afterward
Appendix A: Description of asset types Further information
This appendix references external (to ITIL) concepts and approaches that are relevant to Service Transition. Included are:

Formal standards such as ISO/IEC 20000 and ISO/IEC 27000
Best practice guidance such as COBIT
Processes and methods such as project and programme management.